Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 92 A War of Two Directions

Smoke rose slowly along the banks of the Yanghe River. Lekedehun gazed at the rising dust in the distance, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.

The guards of the Bordered Red Banner were feeding their warhorses bean feed mixed with salt, and the sound of rubbing armor was mixed with a few whispers of Manchu.

His palms were sweating as he gripped the reins tightly. Mafa had clearly instructed him that if they encountered the Qi-character banner, they would have to fight for half an hour before being defeated.

And what appeared before them was the banner bearing the character "Qi"!
The problem is that this place is still forty li away from the Ming army camp!

Could it be that our own troops were dispatched and happened to be attacked by the Ming army?

It couldn't be that the Ming army's scouts had already expanded to the vicinity of their main camp.

However, thinking about these things now is useless; for now, we should just accept defeat!

He ordered the army to dismount. These three Jiala, as Daishan's personal guards, were not only the strongest in combat but also the best equipped.

They had all kinds of heavy armor and cotton armor, as well as bows, crossbows and firearms.

There was even a shock cavalry force of a thousand men, both men and horses clad in heavy armor.

Making a defeat less obvious is a skill in itself.

According to Daishan, the plan was to lure this elite Ming army into the narrow terrain of Feihu Ridge, surround it, and then attack its reinforcements.

Otherwise, Lekedehun would have dared to confront Qi Jiguang's army head-on.

“Beile! Three miles to the southeast!” The sound of scouts’ hooves shattered the silence.

Lekedehun abruptly turned his horse around, his eyes under his red-tasseled helmet suddenly narrowing.

A dark, imposing formation appeared on the horizon, its black iron armor gleaming coldly in the autumn sun. A scarlet banner fluttered in the wind at the center, its large character "戚" (qi) waving prominently.

Lekedehun immediately cracked his whip and roared, "Form the Goose Feather Formation!"

Three thousand heavily armored Bayara spread out like an unfolded folding fan.

One thousand shock cavalrymen were deployed in two columns, left and right.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his personal guards quietly move Mafa's brocade dragon banner half an arrow's length in front of the battle lines, intending to lure the Ming army to seize the banner.

On a mound three miles away.

Qi Yuan knelt on one knee, and the striking golden dragon flag was reflected in the telescope.

The autumn wind whipped up the scarlet cloak, revealing five palm-sized thunderbolts at the waist.

A look of doubt also appeared in his eyes.

How did the Jurchens know that he was sending troops?

What a coincidence that the two sides met at the center of their respective camps.

Almost as soon as he left the camp, the Jurchens sent out their troops.

Despite his doubts, Qi Yuan did not hesitate and flipped the command flag in his hand.

"Order the musketeers to advance to three ranks, and load the tiger crouching cannons with grapeshot."

"Even if we are to lose, we must at least dampen the Jurchens' spirit!"

As the first whistle pierced the sky, an eerie silence fell over the two armies.

The cavalry of the Bordered Red Banner lingered a hundred paces away, their warhorses pawing restlessly. The musketeers of the Qi Family Army had their fingers lightly on the triggers, and the lead bullets trembled slightly at the edge of the powder pit.

In this situation, whoever moves first has a greater chance of winning.

The problem is that they both crave defeat!

After an unknown period of stalemate, it was finally Lekedehun who could no longer contain himself.

"Cavalry, advance five hundred paces and fire!"

The range of crossbows was far less than that of the Ming army's artillery, and if infantry were sent forward, they would easily suffer heavy losses.

As the cavalry drew ever closer, Qi Yuan raised the command flag high in his hand.

The moment the arrows soared into the air, a series of loud explosions suddenly erupted from the Ming army's ranks.

Twenty tiger-squatting cannons spewed out iron sand, tearing the arrows in mid-air into pieces.

The warhorse of the vanguard of the Bordered Red Banner reared up in alarm, throwing the flag bearers off their backs to the ground.

"Charge!" Lekedehun pointed forward, brandishing his sword.

Qi Yuan squinted at the chaotic charging cavalry, then suddenly raised his hand, "Change to wooden horse arrows."

As the command flags fluttered, the musketeers in the front row suddenly crouched down, revealing five hundred large crossbows ready to fire behind them.

The wooden horse arrow was a special arrow used by the Ming army to break through heavily armored cavalry. Except for the arrowhead, the entire arrow was made of wood, and the fletching was also made of wood.

Because the arrows are heavy, they must be released with a large crossbow. Regardless of whether they have penetrated armor, the shafts will break due to the immense force.

It creates fragmentation damage.

It can be considered an early, simplified version of metal jet.

The warhorses scattered in panic amidst the sawdust, throwing the red-flag formation into chaos.

After suffering dozens of casualties, the heavy cavalry dared not advance and fled in panic, even breaking up the infantry formation that had formed a solid block.

If Qi Jiguang's army were to advance at this moment, they would surely be able to defeat them in one fell swoop.

Lekedehun feigned panic and turned his horse around, causing the golden dragon banner to retreat half a mile.

The expected pursuit did not come; instead, Qi Jiguang's army began to build barricades on the spot.

Lecter was completely bewildered.

Even in this state, you still aren't going to pursue it?!

Are you still considered elite?!
Left with no other option, Lekedehun regrouped his troops and continued to engage Qi Jiguang's army.

As the sun began to set, the two armies had already fought back and forth seven times in the open field.

The leather armor with the red flag was soaked with sweat, and the muskets of Qi Jiguang's army were so hot they could be used to bake pancakes.

Whenever one side feigns defeat, the other side tacitly stops and regroups.

Unbeknownst to them, the battlefield had shifted ten miles toward Flying Fox Ridge.

"Taiji, if we retreat any further we'll reach Eagle's Beak Gorge." A Jiala Zhangjing anxiously gestured to the topographical map.

Lekedehun wiped the soot off his face and suddenly noticed the command flags changing in the Ming army formation.

Without warning, the Qi-character banner fell backward, and the front-row swordsmen and shieldmen abandoned more than ten military flags and fled in disarray!
Shouts could be heard from within the ranks: "The general has fallen from his horse! The general has fallen from his horse!"

The once perfectly orderly Qi Family Army formation was now running in panic towards Feihu Ridge.

It was as if they were afraid of being overtaken by the Eight Banners.

Seeing this scene, Lekedehun's mind was in complete turmoil.

How could you lose?!

This is my job!!!

The Ming army's defeat was so dramatic it didn't seem like a performance, especially considering there had been previous instances where the Ming army's formation dissipated immediately upon the death of its commander-in-chief.

Lekedehun didn't even consider the possibility of a feigned defeat.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and swung his sword, "Chase!"

Since the feigned defeat plan failed, let's just use Qi Jiguang's army as a backup plan.

The previously chaotic cavalry seemed to transform instantly, brandishing their broadswords as they gave chase.

Three thousand infantrymen also formed small formations and quickly pursued.

But for some reason, Lekedehun felt a chill in his heart.

The Ming army's retreat was too clever; it fell right into the route they had planned for a feigned defeat.

……

Dusk comes exceptionally early to Feihu Ridge.

Huang Degong squatted in the hazel grove, listening to the approaching sound of horses' hooves in the distance.

The barbed wire buried beneath the pile of fallen leaves gleamed eerily, and nearly a hundred cannons were aimed at the valley entrance.

Feihu Ridge is still a remote, untouched mountain forest.

Some trees have grown so thick that it takes two people to hug them.

You can't see anything more than ten meters away. Let alone his twenty-odd thousand men, even two hundred thousand could be easily hidden.

Huang Degong sat on a fallen leaf, still arranging the specific locations of each department.

"Report!" The scout dismounted. "General Qi and his Qi Family Army have arrived, with pursuers trailing them for two miles!"

"They're here now!?" Huang Degong suddenly stood up.

According to the plan, Qi Jiguang's army should have arrived at Feihu Territory at 10 p.m., but it was only 7 p.m. at the moment.

His ambush hasn't been fully deployed yet.

"How many have come?"

"Approximately less than five thousand."

"Less than five thousand???"

Huang Degong hesitated even more now. If they only managed to wipe out five thousand pursuers, then this ambush would be meaningless.

Even more seriously, His Majesty has already led the remaining 20,000-plus troops to the Jurchen camp.

With 20,000 against 200,000, if they continue their ambush, His Majesty will likely be in danger.

Just as he was hesitating, the sound of a conch shell suddenly rang out from the northeastern mountain valley. It was the Eight Banners war horn that he had never heard before.

Almost simultaneously, the sound of a heavy object rolling came from the top of the cliff to the west.

Huang Degong was suddenly shocked, his blood almost freezing. On the cliff twenty paces away, there were hundreds of Eight Banner soldiers pushing rocks down!

Red and crimson banners intertwined in the twilight, instantly shrouding the valley floor in shadow.

"Fell into a trap!"

Huang Degong drew his sword with a backhand motion, thinking that the Jurchens had seen through his ambush plan and had surrounded him instead.

He quickly shouted, "Light the torches! Qiang Gong, climb the tree!"

Suddenly, torches filled the bushes.

Now it was the other side, Zheng Hongqi, that was terrified.

Gushan Zhangjing exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no, we've fallen into a trap!"

Before the words were finished, the Qi-character flag from the southeast had already swept into the valley entrance, and the Bordered Red Banner cavalry behind them actually collided with the Plain Red Banner infantry that surged out from the flank!
Neither side had time to think. Huang Degong and the Jurchen Gushan Zhangjing simultaneously gave the order, "Attack!"

What should have been an ambush has now spiraled out of control.

Lekedehun's scimitar was stuck in the collarbone of a certain Manchu bannerman, who stared blankly at the familiar cotton armor before him.

Why are these soldiers of the Plain Red Banner, who should have been lying in ambush thirty miles away, here?

Arrows rained down from three directions, making it impossible to tell whether they were crossbow bolts from the Ming army or misfired arrows from their own men.

Qi Yuan kicked aside the corpse of a Red Banner cavalryman, and the musket barrel slammed heavily onto the faceplate of the Red Banner Niru Ejen.

Behind him, four hundred soldiers from the Qi family formed a circular formation and steadily advanced towards the center of the valley amidst the chaos of battle.

The sky gradually darkened.

They were in a chaotic mess in the woods.

The two ambushing armies, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, became completely intertwined the moment darkness fell.

Huang Degong's quiver was already empty, and he was now swinging his iron mace to smash the skull of a certain officer.

He suddenly noticed that there was an unusually dense sound of clashing weapons coming from the northeast corner, and that twenty Plain Red Banner Bayaras were protecting Daishan's brocade banner as they broke through the pass!

"Capture the king! Divine Machine Battalion, don't worry about friendly fire, unleash it on the enemy's formation!"

Huang Degong knew that no orders were of any use now, so he told the Shenji Battalion to handle things themselves before leading his personal guards into the battle.

In the twilight, the canyon of Feihu Ridge resembles the bared fangs of a giant beast.

As Lekedehun's horse trampled over the corpse of a Plain Red Banner soldier, drops of blood splattered from the stirrups drew fine, golden lines in the firelight.

He gripped the reins tightly, his knuckles cracking inside his suede gloves. The absurd scene before him was far more terrifying than the Liaodong shamanic legends that Mafa had told him.

The Plain Red Banner, which should have been lying in ambush thirty miles away, was now fighting each other with the Bordered Red Banner, while their common prey, the Qi Family Army, remained as steadfast as a reef amidst the chaos.

"Your Highness! The western cliffs!" the guard suddenly roared.

Lekedehun looked up and his pupils suddenly contracted. In the firelight, on the cliff a hundred feet high, the muzzles of hundreds of cannons were slowly lowering.

This angle, this angle, could clearly turn the entire valley floor into a hellish inferno!

"Scatter! Find cover!" Lekedehun shouted as he tumbled off his horse, his back slamming heavily against a moss-covered rock.

Gravel grazed my cheek as it flew past, instantly filling my nostrils with a mixture of sulfur and blood.

But the expected artillery fire did not come—instead, the cannons adjusted their angles and aimed at the main force of the Zhenghong Banner that was pouring in from the northeast pass.

Qi Yuan stood with one foot on the broken flagpole, his telescope lens stained with blood.

"Change formation! Move northeast in a tortoise-shell formation!"

He swung his goose-feather saber backhand, slicing through the stray arrows, and slammed the back of the blade heavily onto the shoulder armor of a stunned musketeer. "What are you standing there for! Move the breech-loading cannons to the second row!"

The young soldier wiped his face with trembling hands, revealing his still-childish features.

On the east side of the valley, Huang Degong's chainmail was already soaked in blood.

He had just smashed the skull of the eighth enemy with his iron mace when he saw Daishan's brocade banner swaying thirty paces away.

"You dog Tartars!" He spat out bloody saliva and suddenly roared in Manchu, "Listen up, Plain Red Banner! Your prince is going to kill all the Bordered Red Banner soldiers right here!"

The shout was like a block of ice thrown into boiling oil.

The soldiers of the Plain Red Banner in the midst of the melee turned their heads in unison and saw their own banner being pushed back step by step by the cavalry of the Bordered Red Banner.

"The Southern Dog is lying! Don't believe him! Don't believe him!" Lekedehun hurriedly roared in defense.

In an attempt to salvage morale.

From beginning to end, Lekedehun had no idea how many Ming soldiers there were.

Correspondingly, Huang Degong also did not know how many Jurchens had come.

Neither side had any formation or strategy.

It was purely the will of the soldiers that resisted.

Even though Huang Degong's soldiers had the advantage of the spell, the long-standing nutritional gap still caused them to become physically weak first.

They began to be slowly surrounded by the Zheng Hongqi.

Just then, a continuous horn sounded from the mountaintop.

The black torrent of Xuanjia cavalry poured down from the moonlight, and Zhu Youjian's golden armor shone like flames in the night!
The nightmarish scene was reflected in Lekedehun's pupils.

Those heavy cavalrymen, their bodies encased in iron shells, were able to gallop swiftly through the rocky mountains.

The knights at the front row held their three-eyed muskets level, and in the burst of fire, the heavy armor that the Plain Red Banner was so proud of shattered like paper.

His right leg was trapped under the horse carcass and he couldn't move at all.

They could only watch helplessly as the black-armored cavalry slowly approached.

Three miles away on the mountain road, a thousand charging cavalrymen had been completely wiped out.

The cavalry commander, the always dignified and valiant warrior, was being dragged along by six black-armored cavalrymen with iron chains, leaving long trails of blood on the rocky beach.

Further away, on the highest point of Feihu Ridge, the Wangfu Rock, the figure of the Ming Dynasty emperor appears like a deity in the moonlight.

The young king drew his bow and nocked an arrow; wherever the arrow pointed, the last resistance of the Plain Red Banner crumbled.

at the same time.

Daishan was anxiously waiting in the central army camp.

As is customary, a messenger would arrive from Flying Fox Ridge every hour.

However, after 5 PM, Feihu Ridge was cut off from all communication.

This made Daishan somewhat uneasy. Just as he was about to send two Mongol cavalry units to check, the voice of the Taiji of the Tumed tribe came from outside the tent first.

"Your Highness, we have made contact with the Chahar tribe!"

"They encountered a white disaster and migrated as a whole tribe to six hundred miles west of Guihua City! Now they have learned that the Prince has summoned them and are on their way, requesting passage through my Tumed tribe!"

(End of this chapter)